


Eyes Like Stars

by doodlesky



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, I Don't Even Know, M/M, akaashi and bokuto are in their mid 20s while tanaka and shimizu are in their early 30s, technically it's a fairy oak au but i don't think most people know what it is, the romance is not the sole focus of the story. half of it is akaashi being a teacher and stuff, you know how in the manga akaashi says bokuto's like a star? it's quoted here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-12
Updated: 2019-09-12
Packaged: 2020-10-17 05:35:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20615825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doodlesky/pseuds/doodlesky
Summary: It was just an average evening when Keiji heard Shouyou run towards his house and screaming about some "big news" with Daichi telling him to keep it down close behind him.«Mr Akaashi, I'm so excited! Yesterday morning Mayor Ukai reunited all the adults in the square and said that some important people from Arandiston are moving to Fairy Oak, mum and dad told me that they're moving in the empty house close to ours! Gwaaah we haven't had someone new move here in, like, forever, this is sooo cool!»Keiji absentmindedly nodded to Shouyou's words and supposed that a little change could only do the town good, everyone knew everyone and these new people were certainly going to bring some fresh air. The change wouldn't really affect him since he lived far from the others, but still.He should have seen it coming.«Mr Akaashi I have an idea, why don't you come with us tomorrow?»





	Eyes Like Stars

**Author's Note:**

> I'll clear some things up straight away: this fic is set in Fairy Oak, a magical town from an italian literary series by the same name. In this universe there are two types of magic, Light and Dark, and children find out whether they're magical or not when they're around 10 years old: if they can fly during the day they're a magical of the Light, if they can fly during the night they're a magical of the Dark, otherwise they're just normal human beings.  
Arandiston is actually a real place in the series, but I couldn't remember anything about it other than its name so everything I wrote about it is completely made up.  
It's been a long time since I read the books so there may be some mistakes related to the lore here and there, but please bear with me.

Akaashi Keiji's life had changed the day a lost and teary eyed Hinata Shouyou stumbled into his front yard the previous year, clothes muddy and knees scratched.

Two mugs of hot chocolate later and the young wizard had all his answers: nine years old Shouyou had been playing hide and seek with the other children and their fairies near the woods and ended up wandering off further then the usual, got lost, panicked and ran as soon as he found a clearing in the forest and finally reached a house.  
So Keiji did what any other adult with a heart and a head on their shoulders would have done in his place: took Shouyou by the hand and led him back to the town, where his very distressed parents and fairy had unleashed a search party for him, while everyone around "ahhhh"-ed and "ohhh"-ed at him like he was some sort of apparition - if Keiji had to be honest with himself _yes he was_, since he grew most of his food and only left the isolation of his cottage to buy meat or, more rarely, new utensils or clothes.

Keiji hadn't expected to find four orange heads and a small ball of hazel light knocking at his front door the next day, but it would have been rude to refuse the gift basket the Hinatas brought him so he found himself seated at his table politely conversing with the two parents while Shouyou and his sister Natsu played in his garden under Daichi's watchful eye.  
A mere half an hour later Shouyou had joined them in his living room and excitedly asked him about the big telescope under the glass dome on his roof, which led to more questions about his studies, which led to Shouyou literally clinging to his leg when it was time to go home because he wanted to use the telescope _that_ bad, which led to him inviting the whole family over for dinner to placate the boy's spirit and let him see the stars.

Shouyou's parents bashfully apologised for their son's behaviour, but Keiji didn't really mind having them over: he might have been half a hermit, but that was partially because he worked far into the night and didn't want to be bothered by the noise of the people getting on with their lives as he rested, especially since his magic seemed to act up when he was tired and unpromptedly hearing some stranger's thoughts in his head really wasn't how he wanted to spend his time. He could make an exception every once in a while.  
The young wizard hadn't expected Shouyou to look up at him and enthusiastically ask him «Mr Akaashi, will you have me as your student, please?» either, but admittedly it had been a welcome surprise and nothing his parents said could sway his confidence.  
«Mr Akaashi said he doesn't mind and you know I'll sneak out anyway even if you say I can't come so you might as well give me permission now.» was the last nail on the coffin, and all the adults could do was agree on the days on which Shouyou would be accompanied by Daichi to the young wizard's house.  
And so since then Keiji found himself sitting with the child with a sea of charts and books spread in front of them on his table thrice a week in order to teach the little small ball of energy all he'd learnt thanks to his readings and his own research.

Keiji couldn't complain about having such an enthusiastic young pupil - «The sky's sooo cool Mr Akaashi! Can I please pleeeeease stay here for a bit more tomorrow? I want to see the stars go _bwah_ and _gwah_ some more!!!» - but for the longest time he couldn't make out why Shouyou would choose to stick around a wizard of the Dark like himself, especially after he'd presented as a wizard of the Light.

Keiji hadn't been present to witness the event itself, but one spring evening Shouyou had burst into his house with Daichi hot on his heels and proudly proclaimed that he had managed to take flight just as the clock struck midday and spent the whole time chatting about it.  
«I was trying to reach a shelf and then I was hovering in the air, Mr Akaashi, it was soooo cool! Daichi said I looked like a - what was it, Daichi? A fish out of water? - a fish out of water, I don't know what it means but I had so much fun! I still can't do any magic and my mum told me I can't fly without permission, though.»

He had always thought that Shouyou had turned to him out of boredom and that he would have begun to hang out with the other magical children of Fairy Oak again after his magic's awakening, but clearly he had been wrong.

«It's because you take him seriously.» Daichi had told him several weeks later after he'd confided to him; it was a clear night and Shouyou was cheerfully fiddling with his miniature telescope, while he and the fairy were attempting to clean the mess in his study. «Shouyou's a very... _enthusiastic_ child, he doesn't always get along with everyone and sometimes he overwhelms the other children, so the adults either are very strict with him or they treat him like he's younger than his age. He knows that, as long as he doesn't make a mess, he's allowed to come here and I think that's why Mr and Mrs Hinata are glad they've put him in your care. I'm his caretaker and I always have to be around him to keep him safe, Keiji, but really it's you who he looks up to like a guide. And although he doesn't pay much attention at school, he's genuinely interested in your studies of the sky, so that’s something.»  
Daichi had then joked about him turning into a big softie after seeing the sympathetic expression on his face and Keiji had locked him in an empty jar in retaliation for the rest of the night.

It was easy to love Shouyou and Keiji cherished every moment he spent with the child, so when one night the little redhead told him he was "absolutely the best person in the whoooole world" while he was walking him home he supposed he didn’t mind turning into a big softie, after all.

***

It was just an average evening when Keiji heard Shouyou run towards his house and screaming about some "big news" with Daichi telling him to keep it down close behind him. The dark haired wizard ushered the two inside, sat them in front of his lit fireplace and set off to make some tea. Shouyou was still talking, but at least now he'd calmed down a little.

«Shouyou you'll need to start from the beginning, otherwise I won't be able to understand you.» Daichi looked like he wanted to tear his own ears out, but said nothing while he huddled close to the redhead's thigh for warmth.

«Oh! You're right Mr Akaashi, I'm sorry, I'm just really excited! Yesterday morning Mayor Ukai reunited all the adults in the square - didn't you get his message too, Mr Akaashi? (Keiji had, indeed, gotten Mayor Ukai's message, but he would have never found the strength to raise his head, let alone move his body, in the early morning and he figured that no urgent meeting would have been called through a crow anyway) - and said that some important people from Arandiston are moving to Fairy Oak! I was playing by the beach this afternoon and I saw this biiiig ship dock at the harbour and I went closer to greet them, but then Mr Iwaizumi sent me away 'cause he and the others had to help the people aboard move all their stuff so I don't know what they look like yet. Mum and dad told me that they're moving in the empty house close to ours, so they've been baking pies and biscuits aaaaall day so that tomorrow we can bring them some gifts when we go meet them! Gwaaah we haven't had someone new move here in, like, _forever_, this is sooo cool!»

Keiji absentmindedly nodded to Shouyou's words and realized that the boy was right, apart from the occasional travellers and traders no one had come to Fairy Oak in several years. He supposed that a little change could only do the town good, everyone knew everyone and these new people were certainly going to bring some fresh air. The change wouldn't really affect him since he lived far from the others, but still.

He should have seen it coming.

«Mr Akaashi I have an idea, why don't you come with us tomorrow? You're never around and you need to find a way to greet them anyway, it'll be fun!»

Shouyou was immovable in his request and the little rascal knew that Keiji couldn’t resist him when he gave him that face, so the young wizard silently accepted his fate and didn’t stay up after the boy and his fairy left, knowing that nothing would have made him get up the next morning otherwise.

And so the following day Keiji woke up earlier than he ever had in months, scavenged for some jams and honey in his kitchen, put them in a nice basket he found in his closet and finally headed off to meet up with Shouyou's family so that they could greet the newcomers together. Mr and Mrs Hinata seemed happy to see him, Natsu even shyly smiled up at him from behind her brother, and he chatted with Daichi while they waited for the children to get dressed.

The Hinatas lived in a cozy two-storey house similar to his own near the edge of Fairy Oak and although he had only been through the front door and then straight to the living room, he could tell that every room in that cottage reflected the sunny and joyous personality of its inhabitants. It was too soon to tell whether Natsu would present as a witch or not so the only magicals in the house for the moment were Shouyou and his mother and one could see the presence of magic of the Light everywhere, from the random buds that were scattered over the wooden walls to the gentle flickering of the fire over the scented candles. It was nice.

The newcomers' house was just beside the Hinata residence and the two buildings were divided by a wrecked wooden fence, so Keiji could easily see part of the overgrown garden and a brick wall covered in ivy from where he sat in the living room. It was obvious that no one had lived there in a long time, but the dark haired wizard mused that the cottage resembled his own house: he had never bothered to repaint his wall so the once red bricks sported a washed out appearance and, while he diligently tended to his small vegetable garden, he let the other plants run free, so the untidiness of the view was familiar, almost comforting to him.

Mr Hinata had just finished locking his front door when multiple voices suddenly screeched «Look out!» and Shouyou, who was standing next to him, was nearly knocked off his feet by a ball that crushed against his head. They hadn’t even recovered from the shock when a distressed looking man barged into their garden followed by a child and by a small ball of golden light.

«Oh my god I'm so sorry, please tell me you’re not hurt, we were just practicing outside and I didn’t expect my nephew to hit the ball with that much force, please don’t be hurt.» the more the man spoke, the redder the child behind him got in the face - Keiji could hear him stutter some quiet “I'm sorry”s under his breath – and not even his fairy’s small caresses seemed to soothe him.

The stranger was still apologising when Shouyou interrupted him and told him that he was fine and that the hit “had just surprised him” and that it wasn’t _that_ strong anyway, while his parents awkwardly assured him that no harm no foul. At their «Do be more careful next time, please.» the dark haired child’s expression turned positively bashful and he vigorously nodded, half hidden behind his uncle’s broad figure. An uncomfortable silence then had settled among the group and Keiji felt himself sigh of relief when Mrs Hinata finally broke the ice and asked the man whether they were the people from Arandiston that had come to live in Fairy Oak.

«Oh!» the man exclaimed with a friendly smile on his face «Yes, it’s us! Well, half of us. I'm Bokuto Koutarou and these are my nephew Tobio and his fairy Koushi. There's also my sister Kiyoko and her husband Ryu, but they’re inside the house. Last rearrangements and stuff, you know. I wanted to make Tobio unravel a little so I brought him outside to play, again I'm really sorry for what happened.» he gently pushed his nephew forward to encourage him to say something, but all the child did was pout and nod once more. Mr Hinata went for an handshake and opened his mouth to start talking, but Shouyou hopped forward and beat him to the task.

«Hello Mr Bokuto, it’s so nice to meet you! My name is Hinata Shouyou and these are my mum Hikari and my dad Ken and they’re the best bakers in Fairy Oak, those are my little sister Natsu and our fairy Daichi while that’s Mr Akaashi, he's my teacher and he knows a whooole lot of stuff! Is Arandiston very far from here? How long were you on that boat? Oh, oh! Did you see any marine monsters on your journey? What abou-» Shouyou was practically vibrating with excitement - Keiji wouldn’t have been surprised if his magic suddenly went wild – and his mother had to basically drag him away from under their new neighbour's face, but the man seemed to have taken a liking to the small redhead and smiled at his questions, while beside him his nephew looked more and more sullen by the second. During those brief seconds Keiji finally took notice of his appearance, regarding his strange black-white hair and big, golden eyes.

_“He's clearly a manual worker.”_ he mused after a quick glance over his muscled body, and his eyes hesitated over the man's handsome face for a split second before darting away.

Shouyou's stream of questions was interrupted by a quiet “Koutarou, is everything alright? I heard screaming.” and as Keiji turned his head he saw a beautiful woman standing at the entrance of the ivy covered cottage.

_“Uh. Must run in the family.”_

«Don’t worry Ki, your son just made an attempt on our new neighbour’s life and we had to call an impromptu meeting to negotiate peace.» he joked, while gesturing to the people in front of him «Oh by the way, are we keeping you? You looked like you were going somewhere, I don’t want to make you late.»  
Mr Hinata saw this as his time to shine and politely stated that “We were actually coming to greet you and your family, Mr Bokuto, all these are gifts for you.” so everyone was finally introduced to the last two people of the household and Keiji found himself sandwiched between Mrs Hinata and the armrest of a green couch in the Hinatas' neighbours' living room.

Ms Kiyoko was a courteous host and had offered everyone tea and traditional arandistonian sweets and while the adults chatted around them, Shouyou and Natsu had taken Tobio and Koushi hostage and were talking their ears off about all there was to know about Fairy Oak and the people who lived there, while Daichi watched over them with an exasperated look on his face. The dark haired boy didn’t seem to appreciate all that chitchat and he was visibly restraining himself from doing whatever it was he wanted to do, probably aware that he had caused enough trouble already.

He perked up when the topic of magic came up and proudly announced that he was the first wizard of the Dark of his family but then he and Shouyou started bickering over which kind of magic was better - «I can see in the dark!» «Well, I can conjure stuff!» «I know how to hear people's thoughts!» «And I know how to make plants flourish!» - and then resorted to glaring at each other from across the room after their parents had reprimanded them. Ms Kiyoko and Mr Ryu confessed that neither of them were magical while Mr Bokuto was a wizard of the Light, so Tobio's magical education was mostly in the hands of his school teachers.

The conversation naturally developed from there: Tobio would start attending the town's school the following day, Ms Kiyoko would soon begin to work with Master Takeda in his magical research laboratory - it looked like she was the important new addition to the town – while Mr Ryu and Mr Bokuto were respectively going to work at Mr Azumane's carpentry and at the docks.

Keiji was mostly quiet during the whole deal, choosing to listen to Mr Ryu's tales about Arandiston and Mr Bokuto's boisterous laugh rather than interlude, and felt a weird sense of kinship with Ms Kiyoko after she exasperatedly looked at her brother and husband after a particularly loud screech. Mr and Mrs Hinata, unsurprisingly, didn’t seem bothered by them, but they were the first to stand up and suggest it was time to head back home after a quick glance at the clock. Everyone said their goodbyes to the new family – Shouyou and Tobio even managed to begrudgingly nod at each other – and left, though Keiji was stopped before he took the path towards his house by his small pupil, who was looking at him with a satisfied grin.

«Mr Akaashi, thank you so much for coming today! I'm happy I met Mr Bokuto and Mr Tanaka because they’re reeeeaaally cool, but I also think that seeing you outside of my lessons is really cool, too! Please think about coming to the town a bit more often, okay? See you tonight, Mr Akaashi, bye!» he said before disappearing behind his front door.

***

Keiji wasn’t surprised to hear Shouyou talk about his new neighbours for the next couple weeks so he let him tell him all about how Mr Bokuto had cleaned the garden while Mr Ryu fixed the roof of their new home, how Ms Kiyoko and his parents had shared a bunch of recipes and how Tobio was still an unbearable meanie.

«Mum and dad say I should play with him and bring him with me when I meet with the others because he's _shy_ and _new_, but he's always angry! I can’t stand him!»  
«Tobio picked a fight with Kei this morning at school and the teacher gave him detention, serves him right!»  
«Why is he so good at playing volleyball, it isn’t fair! He doesn’t even want to practice with me!»

Everytime it seemed like Shouyou had a new anecdote about his new frenemy and Keiji had to restrain himself from telling him that “You know you don’t have to hang out with him if you don’t want to, right?”, but didn’t dare meddle with the workings of a child's mind. _Someone_ had also been looking especially cheerful lately and the wizard mused that a certain fellow fairy of his was to blame for it.

So when one afternoon Shouyou and Daichi turned up at his house with Tobio and Koushi in tow he just sighed, offered everyone some hot cocoa and waited for them to explain themselves.

«Ehm... Mr Akaashi,» began Shouyou «the thing is, I wrote about you in an essay we had to do for school and my teacher said she was really happy to see that I found something I like to study and this idiot here- (at which he received a hard jab at his stomach) Ow, fine! _Tobio_ eavesdropped on us and annoyed me until I agreed to bring him along. Are you happy now?» he finished, pouting at the boy sitting by his side. Tobio sneered at the redhead and then turned to Keiji with an earnest look on his face and said with the firmest voice he had ever heard a ten year old child master:

«Sir, may I become your apprentice? I know you already have your hands full with this guy, but I heard you’re a very capable wizard of the Dark and I'm sure I'd be useful to you in someway. I don’t practice much magic at home and I think I'd be able to learn a lot even just from watching you, sir!»

The boy was staring intently at him and Keiji noticed him hide his trembling hands under the table, while Koushi fondly patted his shoulder. Keiji smiled.

«I don’t know what you told your parents when you left your house, but something tells me they don’t know where you are right now. I can’t have you do anything without their permission, so as soon as you’re both done drinking your cocoa I’ll walk you back home and you’ll have a chat with them about it, alright?»

Both children looked down in embarrassment at his words and nodded wordlessly, while their fairies looked at them as if saying “I told you so”.

Shouyou and Tobio pulled faces at each other during the whole way back but no one really talked and soon the forest cleared and the first buildings of Fairy Oak came into view. Shouyou then suddenly jumped up in the air and quickly flew towards the houses with a loud snicker while Tobio dashed behind him, calling him a dirty cheater and screaming “If you really want to see who's the faster flyer then meet me at dusk, you coward!”. Both Daichi and Koushi sighed exasperatedly and rushed to their respective child while Keiji followed them at a more sedate pace. It wasn’t cloudy but the Sun did nothing to protect him from the cold and he shivered in his coat after a vicious gust of wind hit his face; he really couldn’t fathom how Shouyou or the fairies could stand flying in that weather.

When Keiji reached Tobio's house the quartet had already met up with Mr Bokuto, who presumably had heard the children's loud voices and had come out to investigate, and the young wizard was pleasantly surprised to see that the man not only recognized him but also greeted him with a firm pat on his shoulder as if they were old friends and not practically strangers.

Mr Bokuto gave Koushi a confused look at the fairy's “Tobio has a little something to ask his parents.”, but he ushered everyone inside anyway and jokingly asked the dark haired child who he'd almost killed this time.

«I've never almost killed anyone!» retorted the tall child with a pout «And I need to ask mum and dad if they'll let me become Mr Akaashi's apprentice. I want to become a better wizard!» he finished with determination.

«Ehh? An apprentice?» Mr Bokuto's golden eyes shifted to meet Keiji's grey ones. «Hey hey, is Tobio bothering you? He has weird ideas sometimes, I don’t want you to feel obliged to appease him.»

Keiji's “Everything's alright, don’t worry.” came out at the same time of Tobio's “I didn’t bother him!” and Mr Bokuto looked even more confused than before, but he just shrugged and went to tell Mr Kiyoko and Mr Ryu to join the group that had taken seat in the living room.  
Tobio's parents hadn’t seemed surprised – they already knew he wasn’t satisfied with having someone to practice magic with just at school – and said that they had heard only praises about Keiji from Shouyou's parents whenever the subject of their son's lessons came up when they talked, so they easily gave their consent. Tobio would join Shouyou on his lessons, only while one worked on improving his spells and abilities the other would do his readings and study the stars, both under Keiji's supervision. Another difference in the children's schedule were Tobio's flight lessons: no matter how much the child insisted he didn’t need any, flying without a correct technique was dangerous and his parents had every intention of making use of the time Keiji had put in their disposition, so Tobio's lessons would be four times a week against Shouyou’s three.

«I have a request.» everyone looked surprised at Keiji's sudden statement and curiously waited for him to keep talking «Flying is a delicate subject and I don’t want anything bad to happen. I would like to ask if any of you would join us and look after Tobio from the ground, just in case.»

Despite the child's whining, as soon as he stopped talking Mr Bokuto said that he'd be happy to accompany them with a bright smile. «Hey hey hey, I'm the only adult wizard in this house and yet I couldn’t do anything to help Tobio, at least now I won’t feel useless anymore!» he said while flushing in embarrassment.  
Keiji innerly cheered – _“Am I really that desperate to anticipate a child's lessons just so I can ogle his uncle?”_ – and murmured a “Thank you.” in Mr Bokuto's direction.

Ms Kiyoko had then told everyone to stay for tea and Mr Bokuto hogged all of Keiji's attention to talk about Fairy Oak and its unending differences to Arandiston. He reminded him of Shouyou, in a way. Both of them were energetic and loud but charming in their own fidgety way, though one obviously carried himself with the kind of carelessness only a child could master while the other emanated self confidence with every stride he took.

Seeing a grown man childishly munch on a pastry and get crumbs all over himself was odd to say the least, but occasionally Mr Bokuto would get this thoughtful expression when he talked about his old home that made Keiji wonder what was under all that boisterousness. Sure, he could have used his powers to take a peek in his head if he wanted, but it just didn’t feel right. At some point Ms Kiyoko had retired in her study while Mr Ryu had taken the children and the fairies outside to play volleyball, so the two of them were the only ones left in the living room. Mr Bokuto had stopped talking to take a sip of his tea and the words were out of Keiji's mouth before he even noticed.

«Mr Bokuto, why did you leave Arandiston?»

The older man flinched, hand halfway towards another pastry, and looked away in discomfort for a split second before forcing a smile. «Ah ah, you see there’s nothing much to do in Arandiston. Kiyoko's always been brainy, you know? But there was nothing for her to do there and we could see that she was unhappy. At some point an acquaintance who knew what she was capable of put her in contact with Master Takeda and... Here we are, I guess»

«She was certainly fortunate to be given this opportunity. I don’t want to be rude, but I have the feeling that you greatly miss Arandiston... Are you sure you’re happy here?»

Mr Bokuto seemed surprised at his question and it took him a few moments to respond. «Well, I do miss Arandiston. I lived there my whole life and that’s where all the people I grew up with are, but family's family. I could never say goodbye to Ki, Ryu's become like a brother to me and then there's Tobio. And... I love them. I don’t think I could live without them, you know?» the wizard of the Light was smiling again, but Keiji could see that his eyes looked especially misty.

He gave him an awkward pat on his shoulder and hoped that what he was going to say wouldn’t sound too intrusive or stupid.

«You had to make a difficult choice and no one can blame you for it, but I still think that you’re neglecting your own feelings. Maybe you believe that by hiding how much you miss Arandiston nobody can blame themselves for your pain, but I think that what you’re doing isn’t fair towards yourself or your family. You've crossed the sea for your sister's happiness and I'm sure everyone in this house would do anything to see you happy, too. I suppose that Fairy Oak doesn’t feel like home to you yet, but I'm positive that working things out with the others will only do you good.»

The dark haired wizard noticed that the man sitting next to him had started shaking and Keiji braced himself, waiting for a slap on the face, for a “Mind your own business!”, anything.  
He hadn’t expected to be enveloped in a crushing hug by a pair of strong arms. Keiji tensed for a second and realized the other man's body was being wrecked by silent sobs and he suddenly felt like an idiot. He carefully raised his arms to hug Mr Bokuto back and began reassuring him that “Everything is going to be okay, Mr Bokuto, you have nothing to worry about, you'll be fine”, ignoring the wetness he could feel on his shoulder.

After what felt like an eternity the other wizard sniffed and slowly detangled himself from Keiji. Mr Bokuto wasn’t looking at him but his eyes were noticeably puffy and red and his breath still trembled a little.

«I'm sorry, I didn’t mean to put you through that.»  
«It's alright. Are you feeling a bit better now, Mr Bokuto?»  
«I cried like a baby in front of you, there’s no need to be so formal.» he said, a hand raising to scratch his head in embarrassment «But yes, I feel much better now, really. Thank you. Ah, you were right by the way, Keiji – I can call you “Keiji”, right? - I'll... I guess I'll talk to Kiyoko and Ryu and see what I can do.» he finished with a small smile – a _real_ smile this time – and Keiji smiled back.

They swiftly changed topic and talk a bit about their respective jobs and about Tobio's incoming lessons, and as if called the tall boy barged inside to ask Mr Bokut- _Koutarou_ to play with them. Keiji took it as his cue to leave and bid everyone goodbye, receiving a last dazzling smile from the golden eyed wizard before walking away.

***

Tobio was a genius.

Despite having presented only a few months prior and having little to no experience, he was already capable of successfully vanishing certain objects and of controlling small animals. Mind reading seemed to be his weak point at the moment – Shouyou had told him he couldn’t do it because he was an oblivious idiot and Tobio had vanished his homework to get back at him - but Keiji was sure that with enough time he would have mastered that ability as well.

The magic itself wasn’t the only thing Tobio excelled at: although his technique was still rough he moved skilfully in the air and only needed help with few things. Keiji even told him that in a few months he wouldn’t need his lessons anymore, but Tobio was adamant that he wanted to keep on being his apprentice. He and Shouyou still bickered a lot but there was a weird air of agreement between them now, Keiji even caught them sharing a blanket on a particularly cold night while they were taking a break once, Daichi and Koushi nestled between them.

Koutarou, true to his word, always accompanied Tobio to his flight lessons and diligently followed them from the ground. On the day of the first lesson he took Keiji aside and pushed a box of biscuits into his hands – “As a thank you for the other day.” he said with a bright smile – and then rushed to his nephew to give him a pep talk. He didn’t know how long he stood there staring between the box and the other man like an idiot, but he finally snapped out of his trance when he heard Koutarou shout “I’m sure you’ll be great!” after loudly patting Tobio on the back one last time.

There was something captivating about the older man and Keiji often couldn’t help but gaze at him when he knew the other wasn’t looking. The more time passed, the happier he seemed and Keiji liked to think that his advice had worked and that Koutarou at some point had had a heart to heart with Ms Kiyoko and Mr Ryu. He didn’t know what the wizard of the Light thought of him, but Keiji had started to consider him a friend: apart the children and their fairies, he was the only person with whom he regularly spoke and he felt comfortable in his company. One day Keiji had deemed that Tobio was ready to fly on his own, so all the two of them could do from that point on was to sit side by side on the young wizard's front steps and watch the child hover in the air with his fairy under the moonlight. Keiji was already used to Shouyou's shenanigans so he didn’t particularly mind Koutarou's excited babbling or his fidgeting and he had to admit that there was something mesmerizing about the way the other man's eyes shone bright in the darkness. Koutarou's body was warm next to his and he had to catch himself from leaning into the heat at least a few times each night. If anything, at least he could distract himself by looking at the buds that had started to grow around his threshold despite of the cooling weather.

***

A few weeks into the newly established routine a great horned owl flew into his kitchen, knocking a jar of chestnuts off his counter and briskly landing in front of an astonished Keiji, who had been eating lunch at his table just seconds before. His hand had frozen in midair halfway to his mouth and before he could react the grey owl hopped forward and pecked at the meat stabbed on his fork, flapping its wings in his face with a satisfied hoot.

«Oh-Ohi you! Shoo, stop it!»

He never liked using his magic on animals, but he didn't know how the raptor would have reacted to being touched so he had to result to forcing him to obey him. He could see the shift the second the command left his mouth: its wide pupils visibly restricted and the owl stopped in a stiff position. If one didn't know any better, it could have passed for a taxidermy. His heart was still beating like crazy in his chest from the shock but it was then that the young wizard noticed the piece of paper tied to its leg.  
He knew the animal was most likely freaking out on the inside so he tried to touch it as little as possible as to not agitate him further and untied the message, then slowly backed away, expecting it to lash out the second he undid his spell. Surprisingly, the owl only inclined his head left and right a few times and ruffled its feathers, then went back to pecking at his food. With a sigh, Keiji unrolled the piece of paper and as his eyes skimmed across the few lines his breath caught in his throat.

"Hey hey hey, Keiji! This Saturday we're having the Hinatas over for lunch, why don't you come as well? I'm writing this because I don't want Tobio to eavesdrop on us during his lesson, I want it to be a surprise for him and Shouyou! See you soon!  
Ps I hope Fukuro didn't give you any problems, I've had him for only a week and he can be a bit of a rascal sometimes."

The black haired wizard miserably glanced first at the glass shards on his floor and the chestnuts scattered around the room, then at his ruined lunch: Fukuro was now regarding him curiously and the second their eyes met he tilted his head to the side. He was somewhat surprised that he hadn't backed off already, but he mused that no animal of Koutarou would be wary of people.

«Like owner, like pet.» he uttered while muffling a chuckle. His eyes shifted towards the hand that was still holding the message and he felt his cheeks getting warmer at the thought of Koutarou going out of his way to invite him over for lunch. He scavenged for a piece of paper to write his agreement on and carefully approached Fukuro, who presented his leg to him so he could tied the new message to it.  
As soon as he had, the owl took flight, disappearing outside his window and leaving only a couple of striped feathers behind.

Saturday noon found him crossing the forest and carrying an orange pie on his hands: showing up empty handed would have been impolite so he had spent the previous day trying his hand at baking with his remaining jams. He absentmindedly mused that he had to stock up soon and fiddled with the adorned cloth he had covered the pie with. He'd have to find some new baskets too.

The red leaves satisfyingly crunched under his feet and it didn't take long for him to reach the outskirts of Fairy Oak. Soon he was walking towards Koutarou's house, and even from a great distance he could see how different it looked from the first time he had seen it.  
As he came closer he noticed that they had built a large roofed cage on the side of the house, and he spotted Fukuro perching on a branch inside it. The grey owl turned around when he heard him approach and let out a soft hoot upon recognizing him, as if in greeting.  
Keiji flashed him a small smile and walked up to the front door, knocking on it a couple of times. Even through the brick wall he could hear Shouyou and Tobio's loud voices, alongside Daichi's desperate attempts to placate them and he inwardly snickered. Those kids really were something else.

A few seconds later the door swung open, revealing a beaming Koutarou.

«Hey hey hey Keiji, you're here! It's so good to see you, come on come inside! What's that?» the older wizard confidently gripped his shoulder and ushered him inside, closing the door behind him.  
«It's a pie» Keiji answered while balancing the dessert on one hand and shrugging his scarf and coat off with the other «As a thank you for inviting me.»  
Koutarou took his clothes from him and hanged them before he could do it himself, then laughed out loud.  
«You didn't have to, it's a pleasure to have you here, but thank you! It smells really good, I'm sure it's delicious! Come, come, let's go to the others.»

The other man's hand moved from his shoulder to his back to gently guide him through the house and towards the living room and Keiji had to fight with himself to keep a straight face and not look visibly happy about it. Before entering Koutarou murmured a quiet "I think it's better if I hold it for now" and took the pie from his hands. The second he turned the corner he saw Shouyou and Tobio arguing above a wrecked wooden railway, Natsu trying to get her brother's attention by hitting him with a plush toy and Daichi and Koushi flying over their heads with a defeated look on their faces.  
Koutarou stepped beside him and in a voice even louder than the children's he said "Look who's here!"

Silence immediately fell and everyone turned around to look at them. For a moment everything was still, then Shouyou loudly gasped and Keiji could already tell what was going to happen and inwardly thanked Koutarou for his foresight.

«MR AKAASHI!»

In a second the small child had already crossed the room and thrown himself at him, almost knocking Keiji off his feet with the force of his jump. Tobio had run after him and although his shyer personality stopped him from outwardly express it the wizard could tell his little apprentice was happy to see him too. Even little Natsu greeted him with a squeal, while the fairies nodded at him in gratitude for having stopped the children's shouting match with his sole presence.  
Shouyou was still telling him how happy he was to see him when Mr Hinata and Mr Ryu peeked their heads in the living room, grateful but curious to see why their spawns had fallen silent. They greeted him with mirroring grins and only then was Keiji free to venture into the kitchen to greet Ms Kiyoko and Ms Hinata, who had almost finished preparing lunch. Koutarou was still trailing behind him with his pie, which he handed over to his sister to set aside for later, then they went back to the living room to help Mr Hinata set the tables (one for the adults and one for the children and their fairies), while Mr Ryu entertained the kids with anecdotes from when he was "a punk just like you two".  
Soon enough Ms Kiyoko and Ms Hinata walked into the room with the food and before he had time to react Koutarou grabbed his forearm and pulled him to sit down next to him, which greatly overjoyed him.

The meal was as quiet as one could imagine: Tobio and Shouyou hadn't gone back to arguing but they were still loud, just like Koutarou and Mr Ryu were naturally boisterous, but in the end it made for a nice balance with the others' more composed nature.  
Ms Hinata fussed over the food and everyone had to assure her that it was perfect times and times again, Mr Ryu had found in Mr Hinata the perfect audience to brag about his work to and Keiji jumped from listening about Ms Kiyoko's research to stories about Koutarou's daily life over and over.

«Actually!» he exclaimed at some point «It's thanks to her that Fukuro's with us now!» he said while gesturing towards his sister with a tilt of his head.  
«Really?» Keiji curiously inquired at her, wondering what an owl had to do with her field of work.  
Ms Kiyoko nodded back at him with a slight smile. When she spoke, her calm voice was almost inaudible because of the ruckus around them.  
«One of my co-workers works with animal rescues. He told me he had saved and cured an owl, but couldn't return him to the wild because it kept coming back. He began training him, but couldn't put it together with his other animals.»  
«You're talking about Ushijima, right? I knew his family owned a shelter but I had no idea they started working with Master Takeda.»  
«From what I'm told it's a fairly recent development, and it's mutually beneficial. The people from the magical healing department are enthusiastic about it, they get to study how the magic works and the people in the shelter can help more animals. Anyway, I figured he'd make for a perfect gift.» she finished, flashing Koutarou a grin.  
The man in question scratched his head in embarrassment and let out a loud laugh. At Keiji's questioning gaze, he looked away and shrugged.  
«They're my favorite animals, man. I always wanted one and... I don't know, they're just really cool.»

The young wizard didn't miss the look that was exchanged between Koutarou and Ms Kiyoko, and when he glanced back to her pensive expression he wondered whether she had gifted Fukuro to her brother as a way to ask him for forgiveness for not having noticed his feelings.  
He had gotten so absorbed in his thoughts that he almost missed Koutarou's question.

«Do you want to feed him? It's almost mealtime.»  
Keiji didn't tell him he would have done anything as long as he asked him with that smile.

After everyone had finished eating their slice of pie - for which he received several compliments - Koutarou handed him a thick leather glove and pouch and excitingly led him towards Fukuro's enclosure. As soon as he opened the door the raptor let out a loud call and flew over to his owner, landing on a branch near his head.

«Well hi! How's my little guy doing? You're hungry uh? You're hungry, right?»

Koutarou talked to the owl as if it were a cat or a dog and Keiji had to stifle a laugh. For its part the owl didn't seem to mind, rather he leaned over and presented his head to the older man, inviting him to pet it. Koutarou complied with him and gestured at Keiji to step up with a tilt of his head.

«Should I just hand the chicken over to him?»  
«Just take it in your hand and whistle, he'll come to you!»  
«Alright.»

He did as Koutarou had told him and Fukuro didn't keep him waiting: the owl eagerly flew on his covered arm immediately and promptly ate from him his first chicken. With the other man's help he repeated the action a few more times and soon the animal was satiated.  
After finishing his meal he didn't fly off like Keiji expected, but it turned around to regard him from his perch on his fist. He tilted his head the same way he had done in his kitchen, looked back a Koutarou and then went back to regard him. He slowly inclined his head forward and the young wizard gasped, recognizing his action. Next to him Koutarou laughed out loud and patted his back.

«See? He likes you! Go on, pet him!»

Slowly, Keiji raised his free hand and stroked the owl's head. Fukuro emitted a content hoot and he couldn't help a smile from forming on his face.  
It made him incredibly happy to have this animal's approval.  
He also couldn't stop himself from confidently look up at Koutarou, who in turn was looking at him and beaming.  
In the dimming light, his golden eyes looked like they were glowing.

***

The realization hit him one night three months after the beginning of Tobio's lessons.

It was late at night and Keiji was copying his ratty, old sky chart onto a new sheet of paper. The weather had worsened again and although Keiji only wanted to drown under his blankets, he was resolute in his objective. His students had gone home a few hours prior, only this time instead of just leaving Tobio had turned to him and handed him a small pouch. Inside where a few ginger roots and at Keiji's questioning look the boy had only shrugged and said that his uncle had asked him to give them to him because he wanted him to feel better. Keiji stared confusingly at the pouch for a few minutes after he bid everyone goodbye and then he suddenly understood.  
_Of course_. Koutarou might have been childish and immature at times, but he was still a wizard of the Light and he must have felt that _something_ was wrong with him, and to be completely honest Keiji had really been feeling a little under the weather lately. It’s not like anything special had happened, it was just magic doing its thing after all, but Keiji still felt something squeeze in his chest and he had the sudden urge to smile.

His hands mechanically copied the planets and the stars while his eyes occasionally darted towards the window on his right. He had a clear view of the forest from where he was sitting and his mind wandered towards Fairy Oak and, for the first time, he wished that he lived close enough to see the lights flicker inside the houses at the edge of the town.

_“Everyone must be asleep by now.”_ he thought and looked again down at the table. His eyes caught the pouch once more and Keiji sighed. Despite shivering from the cold and feeling his head weight heavily on his shoulders, he wasn’t tired yet and his body was growing restless, although he couldn’t figure out why. Finally his pen inked the last dot on the chart and Keiji lazily got up and covered himself with his warmest coat and his scarf. It had been a long time since he last ventured outside at night but he felt like he would have gone crazy if he kept on staying still, so he braced himself from the cold and headed out.

The rattle of the tree branches and the howling of the wind filled the silence of the night and Keiji slowly paced around the edge of the forest. Autumn was starting to make room for winter and many trees looked bare over him, while the newly fallen leaves crunched softly under his feet. The young wizard didn’t know how much time he was outside, but he realized that it was time to go back when he'd noticed that his hands had begun to feel unnaturally stiff, so he finally turned and started walking towards his house.

He didn’t know how it happened.

Maybe his foot was caught into a root, maybe he slipped on the humid terrain, maybe his legs gave way under his weight. All Keiji knew was that one moment he was walking purposefully towards his front door and then the next he was sprawled on the ground and staring at the starry sky above him.  
Everything seemed unnaturally bright around him and as Keiji trembled under that sight he suddenly remember Koutarou's golden eyes. He heard the older man's laugh in his ears as his body ached to feel the other's warmth again, and his smile was all the young wizard could see when he closed his eyes. Keiji wondered whether someone like him would ever be allowed to reach for his hand and in that moment, as he looked up at the sky again, the idle fleeting thought that Koutarou was a star crossed his mind.

_“Ah. This is bad.”_

His feelings weren't what had shocked him so much, after all he had already noticed his growing affection towards the other man, rather it was the crushing realization of the abyss that divided them that did him him.  
Being put face to face with the awareness that someone like Koutarou was on a completely different level from him was terrifying. For a split second he glared up at the sky, for being so far away, so unobtainable, so beautiful just like he was. He felt the cold from the soil reach into his body and chill his bones, but still his eyes burned.

It was almost funny. The wizard of the Dark, in love with the wizard of the Light. The recluse and the outgoing. The lonely scholar and the shining stars.

"How banal."

Keiji suddenly felt his chest tighten and a few tears escaped his eyes as he got up and unlocked his front door. He managed to reach his stairs but collapsed again, so he just crawled back towards his couch and lied down on it without even taking his shoes off. He wasn’t sleepy per se but he felt incredibly exhausted and it wasn’t long before his eyelids dropped and he fell into a dreamless sleep.

***

Keiji's body held on for another day.  
He woke up at noon, drank ginger, lemon and honey tea for lunch, groggily cleaned his house, drank ginger, lemon and honey tea for dinner, had Shouyou trace the course of a comet and Tobio unsuccessfully try to read Koushi's mind for their lessons and then collapsed again - this time on his bed. On the second day Keiji hardly managed to raise his head and all he could do was cocoon himself under his blankets and sleep.

Keiji hadn’t even reacted when he first heard the voices, thinking that it was just another delirium caused by his fever, but then he remembered the children and he slowly turned around to face his students from under half closed eyelids. Tobio and Shouyou were peering worryingly down at him while Koushi and Daichi gently touched his forehead to check his temperature. He couldn’t make out what they were saying, but he saw Tobio open his window for a few seconds to let Koushi out and then the kids sat side by side on his carpet while Daichi hovered between them.

Keiji wasn’t sure of when he'd passed out again but the first things he noticed when he came to were a warm hand massaging his head and the smell of broth. He eventually opened his eyes and the young wizard found himself staring at two pools of gold. His throat burned and his mouth felt dry and when he tried to speak he only managed to make a few hoarse sounds. Koutarou gently pulled him into a sitting position and helped him drink a glass of water. Keiji laid his head on the other man's shoulder and slowly melted against him; he would’ve love to blame his fever for it, but the truth was, despite everything, he felt incredibly happy and he was too weak to stop himself from indulging in something that seemed so right in that moment. He opened his eyes again and looked around the room: no one else was there, so the others were either somewhere else in his house or had gone home already. The selfish part of him hoped it was the second one.

_“Just for this moment...”_ he thought _“Just for this moment, let's stay like this...”_

Koutarou didn’t seem fazed by his actions and moved from the chair he was sitting on to Keiji's bed so that they were properly side by side. He wrapped the younger man's shoulders with one arm while with the other he reached for the tray that was sitting on his bedside table. He was also the first one to break the silence.

«You probably already know this, but many people get hurt while working down at the docks.» he explained, balancing the tray on his legs «Obviously I'm not as good as a doctor, but I don’t think I suck at healing spells either, you know? I don’t like to perform magic directly on people and I don’t know how much time has passed since you last ate, so well... Everything’s here. Broth. You like broth yeah? I'm not really a great cook, but... I tried. So...»

Keiji faintly smiled at Koutarou's rambling and started eating small spoonfuls of the charmed meal. The man was right: he definitely wasn’t a chef but Keiji felt heat pooling down in his stomach at the thought of the older man rushing to his house and preparing a meal just for him. Maybe he was just deluding himself, but from the corner of his eye he thought he saw Koutarou smile tenderly at him while he ate. Suddenly he felt a tingling sensation run down his spine and all at once his body didn’t feel so heavy anymore. He sighed contentedly and Koutarou snickered beside him, gave his shoulder one last squeeze and moved to sit back on the chair.

Keiji felt cold again but this time his health had nothing to do with it. He hid his disappointment under his usual neutral façade and thanked Koutarou for all he'd done. The other man just smiled and said he was always happy to help, looking away in embarrassment.

«Well,» he said after a few seconds of silence «It's pretty late and you still need to rest, so make sure to sleep lots and don’t tire yourself out, okay?»

Keiji froze up. His eyes darted from Koutarou to the clock hanging on the wall – it was almost one in the morning – and then back to Koutarou. He didn’t want him to go but he had no idea how to get the right words out or how the other man would react and he grew tenser by the second. Koutarou had started to get up and in a split second Keiji made his decision. Forsaking every inch of restraint he had left, Keiji reached out and grabbed Koutarou's wrist. The older wizard looked at him in confusion –_ “Anticipation, maybe? No, shut up.”_ – and questioningly raised one eyebrow.

«It's...»_ “Come on, speak you coward.”_ «It's late, you’re right. And it’s also extremely cold outside. I don’t want you to end up sick like me. There’s a spare room I've never used on this floor, why don’t you stay the night?»

Koutarou's eyes widened comically at his offer and Keiji would have probably laughed if he hadn’t felt so nervous.  
The older wizard, still dumbstruck, nodded frantically and helped Keiji get up so he could lead him to the room and find him some spare clothes to wear. Koutarou was big and the younger man feared that nothing he had would fit him, but eventually he managed to exhume a large knitted sweater from the bottom of his drawer and a loose pair of pyjama bottoms. Keiji wanted to be a good host and make his bed for him, but Koutarou insisted that he still had to rest, pushed him back into bed and bid him goodnight.

Keiji woke up feeling thoroughly refreshed when the Sun was already high in the sky. Slowly he made his way down the stairs and padded into his kitchen, where Koutarou was already standing, turned away from him. Keiji could hear him hum softly to himself as he reached for a jar of honey in his cabinet and poured what seemed to be warm milk in a couple of mugs. Keiji's heart skipped a beat and he wished that he could reach over and drape himself around the other man: seeing Koutarou just be in his sunlit kitchen after he’d just woken up was doing wonders to his heart and he feared that the older wizard could hear the loud thumping in his chest from where he was. The dark haired wizard didn’t want the other to turn around and find him staring at him like a creep, so he murmured a quiet “Good morning.” and carefully sat at his table. Koutarou turned around and greeted him with a bright smile, handing him one of the two mugs he had prepared.

«It's honey and warm milk. Kiyoko always makes some whenever Tobio doesn’t feel good so it should give you a boost, and it'll warm you up.» he explained as he sat in front of him and Keiji smiled gratefully at him. The table had already been set and they talked a little as they ate rusks and jam. Keiji thanked Koutarou for the ginger he had sent him but the older wizard only joked that it had gotten to him too late and that he should have charmed it too. Keiji didn’t tell him that his fever was most likely caused by his little nightly adventure and that he probably would have held on if he hadn’t lied outside in the cold for what felt like hours. In a way, he was glad he had gotten sick and Keiji felt like an idiot – it seemed to be a frequent occurrence since he met Koutarou.

At some point neither of them had anything to say anymore, so they just sat there together while the fireplace emitted sporadic crackling noises. Keiji had never realised that simply being with someone could feel so good and he strongly hoped that Koutarou found the silence that had settled between them as comfortable as he did. Still, the other had a family and a job to go to so he eventually had to get up and change into his clothes while Keiji washed the dishes. When he turned around Koutarou was already standing at his front door, looking uncharacteristically anxious and unsure.

«Is everything alright?» the dark haired man asked, walking up to him.  
«Ah! Yeah yeah of course, it’s just, I heard that Mayor Ukai's organizing a fair for this weekend to celebrate the winter solstice and ehm... I was, I was wondering if you wanted to come? I mean, not that I was thinking that you wouldn’t go, I know these events are really important here, just... Would you like to go together? As in, with me?» at this point Koutarou wasn’t even looking at him anymore and one could have mistaken the coat rack next to him for the most interesting object in the world, seeing how hard he was staring at it. Keiji's brain short circuited and he felt all the blood in his body rush to his face. Paralyzed on the spot, as the seconds passed he could see Koutarou slowly start to grimace almost in slow motion and willed himself not to stutter as he hurriedly uttered “Of course, I would love to go with you, Koutarou.”

The other wizard looked as happy as he felt and Keiji was suddenly pulled into a rib crushing hug. He tensed in surprise for a second but melted against the other man as soon as the realization of what was happening hit him and the dark haired wizard slowly raised his arms to squeeze Koutarou back. The older man's earthy scent hit his nostrils as soon as he hid his face in the crook between his shoulder and neck and Keiji managed not to swoon out of pure willpower. He really didn’t want that moment to end but Koutarou eventually softened his hold on him and gave him one last smile before disappearing behind his front door.

He didn’t know how much time he stood there in complete bewilderment.

***

Keiji had never felt more anxious before.

The first snow of the year had fallen all throughout the previous night and the young man was carefully making his way through the white coloured forest as all the things that could go wrong that day flashed in his mind. He'd tried to convince himself that Koutarou's hug and invitation meant _something_, but what if he was wrong? After all the older man was a naturally affectionate person and maybe he was simply trying to be nice. Maybe people in Arandiston were just more open about their feelings, whether they were romantic or platonic. No that wasn’t right, most people in Fairy Oak were just as good-natured as Koutarou was, he was the black sheep in this situation with all his reclusiveness. But then did it mean that the other wizard possibly, hopefully, returned his feelings? The more he thought about it, the more he couldn’t wrap his head around it.

How could someone as lively and bright as Koutarou fall for someone like him, who went out of his way to avoid people most of the time?

In the end, Keiji spent the rest of his walk psyching himself up and eventually he reached Fairy Oak, which had been decorated with fairy lights and other festive ornaments for the occasion. He could feel several pairs of eyes following him as he walked towards Koutarou's house, but he found that he didn’t care much. The other man was already waiting for him outside and, as he got closer, he noticed he was bouncing his leg and fidgeting with the hen of his scarf. Keiji felt his heart quicken and took a deep, calming breath before calling out to him and stepping next to him. He was greeted by a “Hey hey hey Keiji, you’re here already!” and Koutarou didn’t hesitate to pull him into a quick hug, which he blissfully reciprocated. At this point the eyes on his back where practically passing through him, but Keiji was too happy to spare the passers-by even a thought. They could stare for how much they wanted for all he cared, nothing could upset him in that moment.

They remained close even as they started walking towards the town square and gradually the streets became more and more packed with people: some where simply strolling through the fair, some stopped at every stall, some played music and some were telling stories. Children were running everywhere and Keiji even noticed Shouyou and Tobio standing at a food stall from the corner of his eye. Being surrounded by so many people usually would’ve made him feel apprehensive, but in that moment a weird sense of peacefulness had overtaken him and Keiji suspected that the man walking beside him had something to do with it. After the cold had started to become uncomfortable they stopped for a few minutes at a stall and brought some hot chocolate to warm up, then Koutarou had dragged him throughout the whole fair to play every single game he could lie his eyes on.

Hours later, after the Sun had set, Koutarou still looked like a child in a candy shop, eyes darting in every direction and an excited smile plastered on his face. Keiji felt himself blush and resolutely turned his eyes away from him; he hoped that even with the lights engulfing them the other man couldn’t notice the state he was in. Although it wasn’t late the streets weren’t as crowded as before and Keiji suddenly noticed a shift in the atmosphere around them: whilst in the afternoon they were surrounded by loud children and happy families, now a certain quietness had fallen on the town and he mostly saw couples and elders strolling in front of the colourful stalls. Out of the blue he felt a lump in his throat and he realized that soon the day he’d spent with Koutarou would end.

He didn’t want to leave his side without understanding, though.  
What was going on in Koutarou’s head was still a mystery to Keiji, but nothing would change if things remained the way they were, would it?

The young man gulped and ignored his heart's insistent thumping, slowly sliding his hand out from his front pocket and tentatively wrapping his fingers around Koutarou's gloved ones. He felt the older wizard stiffen and he immediately regretted his decision, but then Koutarou relaxed, carefully held his hand back and gave it a small squeeze. Keiji finally stopped feeling like he was going to pass out and slowly let out a sigh of relief.

He did it, he was holding his hand. Now what? Surely the other knew what he meant with his action, there really wasn’t much room for a misunderstanding there. But they still needed to talk about it and now some time had passed and neither of them had emitted a sound yet and Keiji didn’t know what to do and now he was starting to panic and-

«Hey hey Keiji, do you mind if we sit down somewhere for a while?»  
_“He spoke!”_ «Not at all.»

Koutarou nodded nervously and a few minutes later they had managed to find an empty bench a bit further from the small crowd. He still hadn’t let go of his hand so Keiji's brain managed not to shut down just yet, though he noticed the other man tremble slightly next to him. He felt, more than heard, Koutarou take a deep breath and even if he wasn’t looking at him he started talking again.

«A few months ago you said that Fairy Oak didn’t feel like home to me yet, and you were right. I didn’t want to face the truth for the sake of my family, Kiyoko was finally happy, Ryu was doing something he loved and Tobio even managed to find a friend here. I thought that they would have been disappointed in me if they knew and I felt like an intruder in my own house. Talking to them wasn’t easy, you know? Ki cried. I knew she was going to, but it still hurt to see her like that. Still, things got better. I didn’t have to pretend anymore and I felt a lot less weight on my shoulders, I didn’t feel like I had to be happy and I think that’s why it feels so good to be now. And to be honest, I probably would have never said anything if it weren’t for what you told me that day. None of what I feel would be real if you hadn’t been here. When you left all I could think was “This guy's so damn cool.”, you manage to survive completely alone, you're smart, you’re a teacher and now you also helped me clear my mind and see that I was being an idiot and the more I saw you the more I started to realize how incredible you are. And at some point I just couldn’t stop myself from falling for you and I started to wonder how could someone like this...» Keiji's breath hitched and Koutarou slowly raised his free hand to tentatively touch his cheek «How could someone so wonderful live so close to me, you see?»

Keiji forced himself not to break the newly established eye contact as his raised his other hand and mirrored Koutarou's gesture. The dark haired wizard swallowed deeply and hoped his voice didn’t sound as shaky as he felt.

«If there’s anyone here who’s worthy of praise that would be you, Koutarou. I would have never found the courage to leave all I knew behind the way you did, and I wouldn’t have been able to resist like you did, either. I know it isn’t much coming from me, but you are the most selfless person I know and no words could ever express how much I admire you. You’re truly the greatest man I've ever met and I know that I'm being selfish, but I'm glad you chose to come here. I've never wanted to be close to someone the same way I do with you and sometimes I... I fear that I won’t ever get tired of hearing your voice or seeing your face. It makes me incredibly happy to have you next to me.»

In the end he couldn’t bear the weight of that golden gaze anymore and slowly moved closed so he could wrap himself around Koutarou's torso and hide his face against his chest. He immediately felt the other wizard release a trembling breath and then his arms came up behind him and locked him in his embrace. They remained motionless like that, bathing in each other's warmth, for several long minutes in silence and Keiji was positive that his heart wouldn’t have survived the night.

The first fireworks finally lit up the night and suddenly everything around them burst into colour. Keiji didn’t know what had compelled him to raise his head, but when he did he found Koutarou staring back at him with a beautiful smile on his face and, all at once, everything clicked together.

Koutarou's golden eyes shone bright with the reflections of the rainbow lights exploding in the night sky above them and Keiji swore that if it hadn't been for the crackling noise of the fireworks the other would have been able to hear the booming of his heartbeat, if he couldn't feel it already from where their chests were pushed together.

As the people of Fairy Oak huddled together to look up at the spectacle in the sky, the two men on the bench were the only ones who hadn't raised their heads but remained with their eyes firmly trained on the other. Slowly, Keiji unleashed his arms from Koutarou's torso so he could gently rest his hands on the older man's cheeks. For a split second, as they stared into each other's eyes, the stars he had seen on that cold night just a few days prior overlapped with the face in front of him. He had never given much credit to fate or destiny, but in that instant he wondered whether the sky he had loved all his life had served as a prelude to what he'd feel for this man, and whether he was really meant to be there, in that moment, in that place with Koutarou.

He couldn't tell which one of them moved first, and it didn't matter to him. Those golden pools, sparkling with the reds, yellows, greens and blues of the fireworks, came closer and closer. As he closed his eyes and his world slowly turned to black, his heart thundering in his chest, the heat of the other wizard's breath on his skin, Keiji couldn't help but wonder whether that's what it felt like to drown.

**Author's Note:**

> Rega sta fic è praticamente 'na macedonia abbiate pazienza
> 
> 28/04/20 EDIT: This fic's ending had been haunting me since day 1 - it always felt too dull and underwhelming, just "that's it?" in general - but after 222 long suffered days I've finally gotten around to editing it a bit, cheers! It's super cheesy but eh.  
In the future I miiight also add some things here and there so you can actually read about Akaashi and Bokuto interact over time besides, you know, being told they do, but the reason I haven't done so yet is I'm not that good at building relationships up so the end result might be kinda ew-y. Idk we shall see
> 
> 07/05/20 EDIT: Me again. Hello. I've changed some words here and there, added a tiny little bit more to Akaashi's gay panic moments and wrote the lunch scene. I just HAD to add an owl. What kind of bokuaka fanfic doesn't mention owls at least ONCE c'mon. Is he called Fukuro because I have no imagination? Is it a reference to their volleyball team? Both? Who knows (I don't think they can actually be trained and they definitely don't behave like that, but this is a fantasy au so who cares).  
Why is Ushijima a bird enthusiast? I wish I knew too.


End file.
